I Love Muzzleloading

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2021 Fall Frolic American Longrifle Show

Now in its the second year, the Fall Frolic hosted by Mel Hankla, Lally House, and Frank House has made its mark on the muzzleloading community. When Mel, Frank, and Lally started talking about starting the Fall Frolic, it was out of necessity.

“The CLA had just cancelled the 2020 show due to construction delays at the Rupp Arena. Many of our friends and fellow artists were out of luck, they depended on the CLA show for a large chunk of their yearly income. We needed to do something” Mel said. Thus, the “Fall Frolic” show was born. First hosted in Sharonville, Ohio, the show now calls Lawrenceburg, Indiana home for the foreseeable future.

The Fall Frolic took place this year on October 21 and 22 at the Lawrenceburg Event Center, right next to the Ohio River. The restaurant in the center is called “The Levy”, named for the massive river levy just outside the front doors. It’s a picturesque scene at the end of a small downtown road. Some visitors even remarked to me at the show, “We felt like we were in Disneyland, it’s such a beautiful part of town”.

Old shops and restaurants are getting new life in this part of Lawrenceburg, it feels like main street USA, making for a perfect home for the original American art form, the American Longrifle.

When arriving on Saturday morning, found myself enamored with the show. Even early in the day the show hall was busy and stayed that way through the day. Never did I feel too crowded or rushed, but each artist I spoke with said the turnout was good for the weekend.

Admittedly, it took me 4 hours to get down the first aisle after meeting and talking with many artists and other visitors. At 1pm I knew I needed to hustle to see the whole show. I did my best to feature as many tables as I could in the video linked above. If you noticed something in the video you want to learn more about, below you’ll find a list of the artists and craftspeople of the show.

If I don’t have your name listed, please email me at ILoveMuzzleloading(At)gmail.com and I’ll get your information added to the list.


GOSHEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY SCHOOL OF BLACKSMITHING

Cook Cabin Heritage Center 6707 Goshen Road, Goshen, Ohio 45122

Jamie Gier jamie@evansfuneralhome.com Joe Seabolt jseabolt665@gmail.com email: gthsschoolofblacksmithing@gmail.com goshenhistory.org/blacksmith-shop facebook : blacksmithing in goshen ohio

Basic blacksmithing, forge welding, tong & knife making, hammer & axe making, flintlock rifle hardware, forged kitchen utensils, forging florals, forging christmas gifts

Ric Lambert Gunstocker

finely made flintlock rifles riclambert.com

RANDAL PIERCE

Collector of Iron-Mounted Kentucky Rifles Email: rhpierce47@gmail.co

Ben Barrington - collecting southern long rifles

benpbarrington@gmail.com

CEDAR RIDGE FORGE - Cutler * Blacksmith

J. E. Seabolt 6794 Garnor Rd. Goshen, OH 45122

Millers Olde Roxbury store

Stephen and Sarah Miller 9018 Glades Pike Berlin, Pa 15530 Thurs-Fri9-5, Sat 9-4, Tue-Wed by chance, Closed Sun-Mon Muzzleloader Shop hours Saturday 9-4 bycolonialcrafts.com millersroxburystore2011@gmail.com facebook.com/millersolderoxburystore

Stephen Miller Longrifles

9018 Glades Pike Berlin. Pa 15530 bycolonialerafts.com millersroxburvstore2011@ymail.com

Tim Sanner- Master Horner griz5045@verizon.net, www.timsannerpowderhorns.com

Henry Bowman Horner

Artisan-made Hornwork based upon Original Artifacts HenryBowmanhorner@hughes.net, Henry Bowman - Horner on Facebook

357 Leather

Nate Moore natemoore.44@aol.com Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @357Leather

Steve Auvenshine, Maker

knife279@gmail.com

Kaiser Iron Works

TONY KAISER Vincennes, IN kaiserironworks@gmail.com

Simeon England -Firelocks and Accoutrements SIMEONENGLAND1777@GMAIL.COM SIMEONENGLAND.COM

'Djuana Tucker pronounced "doo-WAH-nah"

historically inspired quillwork djuanazo@yahoo.com

"Craftsman to the Past" Maker of 1Sth 19th c. objets d'art

Mark Thomas

Engraver, metalsmith, horner, gunstocker 10517 Union Springs Rd. Dayton, Va. 22821 MTGRAVER@YAHOO.COM

WWW.MARKTHOMAS-GRAVER.COM

POWDER HORNS & ACCOUTREMENTS

Ron Hess rjhess1976@plantationcable.net

WM REYNOLDS TRADITIONAL LONGRIFLES, APPRAISALS, RESTORATIONS

Reywilliamr@aol.com

Jerry Eitner, Builder of fine Iron Mounted southern muzzleloaders

765-798-3525

J Mitchell Yates, Colonial American Artist - Silversmithing, Engraving, Tradsilver, Longrifles, and Accoutrements

Jmyii@hotmail.com

Mitchyatesgunmaker.com

Kenneth Gahagan - Maker of fine 18th century reproductions- Guns, knives, furniture

Clarksville, VA - kgahagan4@gmail.com

Daniel Boling - Hornsmith and Scrimsander - Maryville, TN -

dbolinghorns@gmail.com

Midget Forge - Jonah Cain

jonahcain501@gmail.com

Ian Pratt

@ianpratt360 on Instagram


While there isn’t a formal theme for this show, I certainly noticed a theme of education. Master artisans like John DeWald, Ron Hess and Joe Seabolt spent much of their time at the show talking to interested students wanting to learn more about traditional crafts. We saw many students young and old leaving the show with some free starter tools and materials, armed with knowledge of scholarships and classes- ready to begin their own accoutrement journey. It’s moments like these that make me proud to be a part of this great community.

It was great to catch up with friends like Mitch Yates and Mark Thomas, Ian Pratt, Ken Gahagan, Jerry Eitner, Jeff Jaeger, Tony Kaiser, Nate Moore, and Jason Gatliff. Several “online” friends came too. Ethan from “the_classic_outdoorsman” instagram page stopped by to chat. I was able to catch up with several unnamed viewers as well, who were kind enough to share their muzzleloading story with me. We all come from different walks of muzzleloading but in the end we can all come together to appreciate muzzle-loading art and craftsmanship.

Special thanks to Mel, Frank and Lally for allowing me to film the show. It was a great time, I can’t wait for next year!

This marks the last show of 2021 for me, we’re heading back to the shop and the range soon for more muzzleloading fun. Thanks for reading.

All the best,

Ethan